Extensive New Body of Evidence on Abortion in Six Indian States Released

Extensive New Body of Evidence on Abortion in Six Indian States Released
Data Available on Abortion Incidence, Access to and Quality of Safe Abortion Services

Nov 12, 2018

Abortion has been legal under broad criteria in India since 1971, yet representative information on abortion incidence and access to abortion services in the country has been scarce. The results of a large-scale study titled Unintended Pregnancy and Abortion in India have now been released, filling a critical evidence gap. The results of the study—which was conducted jointly by researchers at the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, the Population Council, New Delhi, and the New York–based Guttmacher Institute—include a wide range of data on abortion in six Indian states: Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. These states are geographically and culturally diverse, and are home to nearly half of reproductive-age women in India.